For much of the offseason, recruiting stories have focused on two quarterbacks that have become the apple of the Irish coaching staff’s eye: Maty Mauk and Gunner Kiel. The two quarterbacks both have ties to the Irish program — Mauk’s brother Ben played under Kelly at Cincinnati and has gushed openly about BK’s offense. Kiel is from Indiana, has family lineage that includes former Irish quarterback Blair Kiel, and also happens to be one of the top-rated prospects in the country, an almost certain five-star recruit.

With the plethora of scholarships on the table right now in Irish recruiting, quarterback offers are few and far between with Mauk and Kiel joined by dual-threat quarterbacks Cyler Miles and Jameis Winston as the only four quarterbacks with offers on the table. But the Irish might be adding another name to the mix, with Buffalo’s Chad Kelly, nephew to Hall of Famer Jim Kelly, recently getting a visit from none other than Bob Diaco.

“Coach Diaco was in last week,” said Kelly, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound dual-threat quarterback. “I got a few e-mails from (Notre Dame) last season but this was the first time (they visited).”

Kelly didn’t have the chance to talk with Diaco, but St. Joseph’s head coach did and he relayed a message to his quarterback.

“Coach Diaco talked to my coach and said that I’m very worthy of a scholarship and what not,” Kelly said.

Kelly seems like another intriguing prospect, with a reported 4.5 forty time posted last year at the Ohio State camp. He’s obviously got impressive bloodlines as well. With Mauk and/or Kiel likely at the top of both the coaching staff’s board as well as the probability chart, the coaching staff is showing once again that under Kelly, recruiting coordinator Chuck Martin and in-house director Dave Peloquin, that they’re covering all their bases.

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One recruit that’s no longer on Notre Dame’s radar is recent Michigan commit Joe Bolden. The outside linebacker, and former teammate of incoming Irish freshman Jarrett Grace, gave some eye-opening quotes to writer Kyle Warber, reported on MLive.com:

When you tell a 6-foot-3, 230 pound linebacker he is “too small,” especially a player with the pedigree of JoeBolden, don’t be surprised if he looks forward to “beating the tar out of you” every year.

“Being told I am too small,” Bolden admitted, “when I have never heard that before, it was an eye opener. Notre Dame told me they wanted a 6-foot-4 linebacker and that I am ‘not their guy.’ I’m not upset if I don’t fit your profile, I was just surprised it was about height, because I have always believed that it’s not the size of the dog, but it’s the dogs bite.”

Now Bolden is relishing the opportunity to take a big bite out of Notre Dame (Ohio State too), including getting the better of old teammate and great friend Jarrett Grace, who currently plays for the Irish.

“It will be good to walk over and shake the Notre Dame coaches’ hands and say thank you for giving me the drive to be even better,” Bolden said.

For Irish fans looking to gloat, it might feel nice to know that Michigan’s most coveted recruit is a guy that the coaching staff didn’t see as worthy of an offer. (Then again, that’s a risky proposition, especially considering guys like A.J. Edds, the former Iowa linebacker and 4th round pick, basically begged for an Irish offer.) But looking at this analytically, it’s just another example of Notre Dame knowing exactly what it’s looking for when it comes to position groupings and recruiting “fits,” and it seems like the coaching staff had the discipline to stick with their convictions and bring in the players they know will work within the confines of their defense.

Either way, remember the name Joe Bolden. It’ll be interesting to see how this one plays out…

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ESPN and College Football Live took a look at Notre Dame, which they’ve got pegged at No. 17 in the way-too-early 2011 preseason polls. The panel was moderated by Kirk Herbstreit and included Craig James, Jesse Palmer and some guy named Urban Meyer.

Take seven-plus minutes to watch the video, and then I’ll come back with some commentary:

Okay, here goes:

It’s a little disappointing that of all people, Herbstreit’s little “nugget” is probably the most preposterous statement of anybody’s, including the notorious Brad James. Herbie’s note that the first round draft drought the Irish have suffered at running back and receiver since Jerome Bettis in 1993 helps explain why the Irish have had woes since Lou Holtz is beyond misleading.

Of course, on the surface this sounds like sound logic. But dig a little deeper (as our friends at the blog formerly known as BlueGraySky did) and this is one step short of Herbstreit’s “high school defense” theory that looked quite silly as last season wore on.

Until this year’s draft, Alabama has had only one running back or wide receiver (Shaun Alexander in 2000) taken in the first round since 1974, when Wilbur Jackson went to the 49ers. Even more incredible, only three tailbacks or wide receivers at Alabama have been taken in the first round in the entire history of the NFL Draft.

Sure, Herbstreit’s comments sound good in an eight-minute roundtable discussion, but when presented against a program as prestigious as Alabama, you realize that it’s a pretty worthless evidence.

One note probably more interesting than any other? It’s that Urban Meyer — the only guy on that panel that’s seen Notre Dame in person since last football season — was the most bullish on the Irish.

“I think they’ve got the right guy,” Meyer said of Brian Kelly taking the reins of the program. “I don’t think — I know they got the right coach.”

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Finally…

As if his performance on the NFL Network’s draft coverage wasn’t enough, apparently Brian Kelly is working to get his SAG Card.

It turns out Urban Meyer wasn’t just in South Bend to be a featured speaker at the Notre Dame coaching clinic, but he was also wearing his ESPN analyst hat when he visited Brian Kelly and company for spring practice.

Here’s the segment ESPN produced that aired today featuring Meyer, Kelly, HelmetCam, and the epic 3-on-3 battles taking place during these 15 practices.

For all the vitriol that Irish fans have had for Meyer since he chose Gainesville over South Bend, Meyer was incredibly complimentary about the upgraded facilities, the defensive players coming into campus and the momentum the Irish have coming into the 2011 season.

After inexplicably giving most of the country the Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State game, ABC and ESPN announced changes to their coverage map for Saturday night’s game between Notre Dame and USC.

According to the Notre Dame athletic department, ABC has made revisions and now the New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and Pittsburgh markets have changed to coverage of the Notre Dame/USC game.

All in, about 46 percent of the country will see the Irish battle the Trojans, a vast improvement from the original map released on Monday.